Finding decent student-friendly accomodation in Delhi is an uphill task, especially for girls. Campaigns like Pinjra Tod are trying to make it easier, but things are still far from better. ANGElA PAlJOR tells you more
As an education hub, Delhi attracts a large number of outstation students every year. However, there is a huge gap between the number of students coming in and the hostels available. Add to that the lack of girls’ hostels in most co-ed colleges and the students are left with just two choices — either become a paying guest (PG) or rent an apartment. PGs are considered safer because of the landlords’ rules. But the steady increase in rent and decline in quality of rooms is a constant concern.
In August last year, students of various universities came up with a campaign called Pinjra Tod (break the cage) to raise their voices against the inequalities faced by girls. They are raising the need for creating safer and affordable spaces for women to stay. Apart from challenging the unreasonable restrictions on women in private hostels and PG accommodations, they are also taking up these issues with university hostels, including issues of curfews, dress codes and fee structures for women residents.
Neelam, who is pursuing her Bachelor’s in Political Science from Delhi University (DU), moved to Priyadarshani Vihar near North Campus to stay with her friends. The new rooms were spacious and affordable. During summers, the gate closed at 10 pm, which changed to 9.30 pm during winters. She tells you: “After a few months, some girls started getting pornographic photos slipped under their doors at night. The caretakers started sleeping outside to keep watch.”
Things took a turn for the worse when one of her friends’ laptop was found open and a bunch of pornographic videos were downloaded on it. It was later discovered that all this was the doing of their next-door neighbour, a married man with children, who climbed in through the girls’ window. Neelam shifted the next week despite the owner’s promise of CCTV cameras.
PG facility is comparatively easier to find in the North and South Campus where a single bed is charged at least Rs 7,000-Rs 8,000 with food. However, the price increases with the addition of facilities like Wi-Fi, library, gym, AC and so on.
The irony is that the use of AC is charged separately per unit. “Three of us share one room and each of us has to pay Rs 11,500 because of the AC. Half of the year, the AC is not used and we go home during peak summer. The reason we’re still staying here is that the owners are decent and food is comparatively better,” shares Shivani, currently pursuing her last year in BA History from DU.
The cheaper PGs are a horrifying sight with narrow corridors leading to small rooms, cramped with two or three beds. The rooms are dark and dingy with zero ventilation. Deachen, who is studying Bachelor’s of Zoology from DU and a resident of one such PG, tells you: “My parents don’t allow me to rent a cheaper and spacious apartment. Here, I pay Rs 4,500 for a small bed and I cook in the small shared kitchen at the end of the corridor as I don’t take the tiffin service.”
The constantly increasing rents, deteriorating standards, unnecessary restrictions and the extra expenditure on brokers are a worry for these students. The owners do not follow the Delhi Rent Control Act, 1995, according to which owners can increase rent by a maximum of 10 per cent every 11th month. There are no proper rent agreements signed, nor do the tenants receive any receipt for the rent they pay.
Things are not much easier for the boys. Anuj, a student of Masters in Mass Communication from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, whose students prefer to stay along the Metro’s Blue line, is tired of arguing with his apartment caretaker. He complains, “There was no lock on the door and my roommates and I had to put cartons of books to close the door the first night. The worst part is that our electricity meter is shared with the neighbour, a friend of the caretaker. So, we end up paying almost Rs 9,000 for electricity, along with Rs 9,000 as rent, while he pays only Rs 500. I am asked to vacate the house if I bring it up.”
A report on the conditions of the women hostellers was submitted by the Pinjra Tod campaign to the Delhi Commission for Women (DEW) which then issued notices to 23 registered universities in Delhi. Answers were sought to questions like the number of students disaggregated by gender, curfew timings and the reasons behind the difference in the timings based on gender, what penalties were given to the ones who broke these rules and so on. “The colleges have not responded to us but DEW told us that they had to issue notices again as few of the colleges were reluctant to reply. Most colleges have responded and they are going through the data. However, no rules have been changed so far,” Shambhawi, a member of Pinjra Tod shares.
Taking about the block list of PGs that is still in progress, Shambhawi says that the universities should have some kind of mechanism to check the facilities provided in PGs and have something like rent cap. “There are universities abroad that have a list of recommended accommodations. We have asked students to fill this block list as they are aware of the pros and cons of various PGs.”
Shambhawi advises that students should ensure police verification and take the due receipts. “They should also be aware of the electricity and water meters. PGs which have an elaborate system of getting permission from local guardians and unreasonable curfew times should be avoided as this leads to a lot of harassment. Also, try to form a community within the PG to air your problems.”
Pinjra Tod is all set for the new session with its block list. “We are trying to collectivise students in PGs and hoping to pressurise the administration with the UGC circular that has banned discriminatory rules against female students, including dress code, on the pretext of safety,” Shambhawi tells you.
It remains to be seen is if the notifications about gender discrimination issued by UGC and AICTE will be heeded by the universities.
